Helical-spring-hooking machine.



N. S. HARTBR.

HELIGAL SPRING BOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED $BPT. 29, 1910.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N. S. HARTER.

HELIUAL SPRING HOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED smmza, 1910.

1,051,497. Patented Jan.28, 1913.

4 QHBETS SHEET 2v 777deraf0r 16 MJM Maw/@264 vN. S. HARTER.

HELICAL SPRING BOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1910.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N. S. HARTER.

HELIGAL SPRING HOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1910.

Patented J an. 28, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

i J M M m i UTEn sTArEs PATENT OFFICE.

NOAH S. HARTER, OF WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN STEEL WIRE COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY, OF HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HELICAL-SPBING-HOOKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

Application filed September 29, 1910. Serial No. 584,547.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NOAH S. HAR'I'ER, of Waukegan, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Helical-Spring- Hooking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for forming hooks or loops on the ends of helical springs and one of the objects of the invention is to provide means whereby the previously formed coiled spring is properly placed Within a die in order that the loop may be located in exactly the right position.

A further object of the invention is to provide mechanism of the class described which shall be adapted to time the delivery of the previously formed springs to the apparatus for forming the hooks on the ends thereof and to separate the springs to prevent more than one being delivered to the hook-forming mechanism at a time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide mechanism which will, after a hook has been formed on one end, turn the spring end for end and place it in position in the dies where a hook is formed on the opposite end.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved device; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of a portion of the apparatus showing mechanism for forming the hook on the end of the coiled spring and also showing the means employed for separating or selecting the springs; Fig. 5 is a sectional plan 011 the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the mechanism is supported on a base portion, 10, having an upright, 11, from which extend the integral brackets, 12-13. Mounted in the bearings, 14, within the base, 10, is a shaft, 15, connected with any suitable so-urce of power. This shaft is pro vided with bevel gear, 16, meshing with gear, 17 keyed to vertical shaft, 18. A gear, 19, also mounted on the shaft, 18, intermeshes through the gears 20 and 21 with the gear 22, the latter being keyed to vertiand also the means for delivering the springs to the machine selecting the same and timing their delivery to the dies, whereas the shaft, 23, operates the mechanism for properly placing the spring after it has reached the dies; also operating the hook-forming die; also reversing the spring and subjecting it to a similar operation, finally releasing the same in the finished condition.

As will be noted, the machine comprises two hook-forming devices, one placed above the other in the same plane, there being a spring turning device for reversing the springs as they pass from one set ofmechanism to the other. I will therefore proceed to describe the upper hook-forming mechanism. The shaft, 18, is mounted in bearings, 24-25, on the brackets, 12-13. Reference being had to Figs. 2 and 5, it will be seen that the cams, 26-27, are keyed to the shaft, 18, and that these cams are adapted to operate the two spring-holding or clamping dies. These dies comprise arms, 28-29, secured; to an idle shaft, 30, by means of the double knuckle bearing, 31-32, as best shown in Fig. 6. These arms are strengthened by the ribs, 33-34, cast integral therewith. Extensions, 35-36, are provided for the arms, 28-29, these extensions being pivotally mounted on said arms at 37-38, and their outward swing limited by the stops, 39-40, formed as a part of the arms, 28-29. The arm, 28, also carries a lug, 41, upon which is mounted a cushioning spring, 42, and bolt, 43. An additional set-bolt, 44, passing through the lug, 39, and threaded into the arm, 35, completes the means for adjustment of the arm, 35, and the arm, 28. The adjustment of the extension, 36, on the arm, 29, is rigid and is accomplished by means of the two bolts, 45-46, the bolt, 45, being threaded into the extension, 36, and the bolt, 46, being threaded into the integral lug, 40. The outer ends of the extensions, 36-35, are provided with anti friction rollers, 47-48, adapted to contact the cams, 26-27, respectively. The two extensions are flexibly connected by means of the tension spring, 49, this spring, of course, tending to cause the two extensions with their rollers, to follow. the cam surfaces. On the spring clamping dies, 5051.

front end of the arms, 2829, I provide the Below the die, 50, is the hook-forming die, 52, which is rotatably mounted, and below the die, 51, is the die, 53, rigidly mounted on the die, 51, both of which dies may be formed integral with the arm, 29. As shown in Fig. 4, a spring has been located between the holding dies .5051, and hook-forming die 52 is about to begin the operation of forming the hook on the bottom of said spring, the die, 52, in its rotation, following the path indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 4. The shaft, 18, is provided on its upper end with a beveled gear, 54, meshing with a gear, 55, on a stub-shaft, 56, which shaft is connected by gearing with the transverse shaft, 57, mounted in the upper portion of the frame and having on its opposite end a pulley, 58, and a cam, 59. As shown in Fig. 4, the pulley, 58, carries a conveyor, 60, by means of which the springs are carried from the springforming machine and deposited in the hop- 1 per, 61.

I will now describe the timing mechanism, by means of which the springs are fed to the hooking dies in proper sequence. A slide 62, normally opposes the descent of the springs shown in the hopper, 61. This slide, 62, is actuated by a lever, 63, pivoted on a lug, 64, the lever, 63, being attached on its upper end to a compound plunger or slide, composed of the inner member, 65, having the stem, 66, cotiperating with the rear plunger, 67, which is pivoted to the arm, 63. A spring, 68, normally separates the members, 65 and 67, and a spring, 69,

' normally holds the parts in the position of Fig. 4. An upwardly extending lever, 70, is provided on its upper end with an anti-friction roller, 71, coiiperating with the cam, 59, as shown in Fig. 1. seen, at each revolution of the cam, 59, the levers, 7 O and 63, will be actuated, the result being that the plunger, 65, is pressed against .a spring C, within the hopper, 61, and the slide, 62, is withdrawn from neath the spring B, allowing it to drop, it being assumed that the spring-A has been operated on and dropped into the chute, 72, by means of which it is conducted to thereversin ,mechanism, later to be described. As wiI be seen, the spring, 68, provides a cushion so that the spring C, is held securely but without danger of crushing. As will be understood, the springs are quite liable to dropv into the spring-holding dies in a position so that the hook would not be formed uniformly in each instance; therefore I have provided a. turning disk which I have numbered, 73, by means of which the spring is turned until its lower point,

which I have marked, 74, in Fig. 4, abuts against the edge of the die, 53, and is prevented from further turning thereby. This As will be 'idlers, 8081, the latter being mounted on an arm, 82, and tightened by a spring, 83. The chain is driven by the friction pulley, 84, mounted on the upper end of the shaft, 23. This pulley is held in frictional contact with the disks, 8586, keyed to the shaft, 23, by means of the coiled spring, 87. In order that the spring may turn freely under the action of the disk, 73, until it is stopped by the abutment on the die, 53, I prefer to place rollers, 91, on the arm, 29, against which the spring rests, when in the position shown in Fig. 4. The hook-forming die, 52, is mounted for rotation in the bearings, 88, on the upper end of a shaft, 89, and connected by the gearing, 90, with the shaft, 23.

After the operation above described has been performed and the dies, 5051, retracted, the spring will drop into the chute, 72, and thence to the reversing mechanism, whereby the spring is turned end for end and the operation above described repeated to form a hook on the opposite end of the spring. This spring reversing mechanism is composed of a rotary pocket, 92, having a gear, 93, meshing with rack, 94, as best shown in Fig. 1. This rack, 94, is spring connected to a slide, 95, mounted in the frame of the machine and reciprocated against the tension of a spring, 96, by means of a cam, 97, mounted on the shaft,

23. Adjusting screws, 98-99, are provided by means of which the throw of the rotary pocket may be regulated.

It will be understood that the operation of the device is so timed that when a spring is released from the clamping dies, 5051, it drops into the chute, 72, and thence into the pocket, 92, of the part, 92. The turning of the cam, 97, causes the retraction of the rack, 94, which turns the part, 92, until the pocket, 92*, registers with a chute or guide, 100, which corresponds to the lower portion of the chute, 61, previously described. The spring is then grasped by the clamping dies, 10l102, after being turned to proper position by a turning disk, 103,

pleted, allowed to fall into any proper receptacle. It willbe understood that although the timing of the different parts has not been described in detail, the action is synchronous. The function of the spring,

94", which separates the rack, 94, and the slide, 95, is to prevent the possible breakage of parts if a spring should become lodged and prevent the turning of the part, 92. With the, construction as described, it a spring should become lodged and the part, 92, prevented from turning, the part, 95, would still reciprocate under the action of the cam, 97, without danger of breakage.

It Will be understood that the operation of the second or lower set of clamping dies, 101-102, is identical with that described ot' the arms, 2829, and such operation will not be further described.

As will be understood by reference to Fig. the cams, 26-27, control the operation of the arms, 2928, in such manner that just prior to the action of the slide, 62, in releasing the spring B, the dies are closed sutficiently so that the spring cannot drop all the way through. The dies then close to a slightly greater extent, allowing the rotary disk, 73, to contact the side of the coiled spring and turn it until the end of the wire contacts the die, 53. The clamping dies then close to their full extent, the crushing of the spring being prevented,

' however, by the cushioning oi: the spring,

42, between the extension arm, 35, and the arm 28.

It will be apparent that only one of the loop forming mechanisms may be employed, thus having a loop on one end only of the springs, the spring then being reversed and returned to the upper end of the machine. Furthermore. the mechanism for driving the looping and clamping dies may be changed and other and further modifications may be made by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for forming hooks on springs, the combination of constantly revolving means adapted to frictionally engage a coiled spring and rotate the same on its axis, a stop adapted to be projected into the path of travel of an end of the spring and position the latter prior to the bending operation, and means'to bend the end of the spring to form a hook, substantially as described. 2. In an apparatus for forming hooks on springs, the combination of a constantly revolving means adapted to frictionally engage a coiled spring and rotate the same on its axis, a stop adapted to be projected into the path of travel of an end of the spring during such rotation and adapted to position said end of the spring prior to the bending operation, means to bend the end portion of the spring to form a hook, and means to fixedly hold the spring during the bending of its end, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of springs, the combination of a first set of hook-forming dies, a second set of hook-forming dies, and means to convey the springs from the first set of dies to th second and apply them i Invert-6d position to the latter, whereby the tWo sets of dies are ada ted to bend up hooks on oppo it ends 0 the spring, substantially as d scribed.

4. In an apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of coiled springs, the combination of a first set of hook-forming dies, means to actuate said dies, means for intermittently feeding the springs to said dies, means for positioning the springs for the bendin operation by said dies, a second set of hookforming dies, means to operate said second set of dies in proper timed relation to the actuation of said first set of dies, means to convey the springs from the first set of dies to the second set and apply them to the latter in reversed position, and means to position the reversed springs with respect to said second set of dies, whereby the tWo sets of dies are adapted to bend up hooks on opposite ends of the springs, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of coiled springs, the combination of a first set of hook-forming dies, means to actuate said dies, means for intermittently feeding the springs to said dies, means for positioning the springs for the bending operation by said dies, a second set of hookforming dies, means to operate said second set of dies in proper timed relation to the actuation of said first set of dies, means to convey the springs from the first set of dies to the second set and apply them 'to the latter in reversed position, and means to position the reversed sprin s with respect to said second set of dies, w iereby the two sets of dies are adapted to bend up hooks on opposite ends of the springs, each of said positioning means, including a constantly rotating element, frictionally engaging the springs and rotating them on their axes, substantially as described.

6. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, having a hopper for the springs, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of the hopper, and means engaging with and rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hook-forming dies, substantially as described.

7. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, having a hopper for the springs, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of the hopper, and friction means engaging with and rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hookforming dies, substantially as described.

8. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, having a hopper for the springs, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of the hopper, and a friction roller engaging with and rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hookforming dies, substantially as described.

9. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, comprising a hopper in which the springs are placed, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of said hopper, clamping dies for holding the springs in position during the hook-forming operation, and means engaging with and rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hook-forming dies, substantially as described.

10. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, comprising a hopper in which the springs are placed, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of the hopper, means engaging with and rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hook-forming dies, and means for timing the delivery of the springs to the discharge end of the hopper, substantially as described.

11. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, comprising a hopper in which the springs are placed, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of the hopper, means engaging with and rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hookforming dies, and means for separating the springs while in the hopper, substantially as described.

12. Apparatus for forming books on springs, comprising a hopper in which the springs are discharged, hook-forming dies at the discharge end of the hopper, means engaging with and successively rotating the springs axially to position the springs relative to the hook-forming dies, and means for separating and timing the delivery of the springs to the discharge end of the hopper, substantially as described.

13. Apparatus for forming hooks'on springs, cmnprising a hopper, a conveyer for delivering the springs into the hopper, hookforming dies at the discharge end of said hopper, means for actuating said hook-fo-rming dies, a stop adapted to prevent the passage of the springs through the hopper, and means for reciprocating said stop, substantially asdescribed.

14. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, comprisinga hopper for the springs, means for delivering springs into said hopper, and hook-forming dies at the discharge end of said hopper, said hook-forming dies comprising a reciprocating die and an opposing rotating die, substantially as described.

15. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs, comprising a hopper for the springs, means for delivering the springs into said hopper and hook-forming dies at the discharge end of said hopper, and means for moving said dies into and out of engagement with the end of a spring held in said hopper in forming a hook on the end of said spring,

substantially as described.

16. Apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of springs, comprising a set of hookforming dies, meansfor delivering the springs endwise to said dies, a second set of hook-forming dies, and means for delivering the springs endwise thereto from the first set of dies, substantially as described.

17. Apparatus for forming books on the ends of springs, comprising a set of hookforming dies, means for delivering the springs endwise to said dies, a second set of hook-forming dies, means for delivering the springs endwise thereto from the first set of dies, and means for turning the 'sprin s endwise in passing from the first set 0 hook-forming dies to said second set of dies, substantially as described.

18. Apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of springs, comprising a set of'hookforming dies, a second set of hook-forming dies, means for delivering the springs end.- wise thereto from the first set of dies, and means for actuating said hook-forming dies, substantially as described.

19. Apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of springs, comprising a set of hookforming dies, means for delivering the springs endwise to said dies, a second set of hook-forming dies, means for delivering the springs endwise thereto from the first set of dies, means for turning the springs endwise in passing from the first set of hookforming dies to said second set of hookforming dies, and means for actuating said hook-forming dies, substantially as described.

20. Apparatus for forming hooks on the ends of helical springs, comprising a hopper for the springs, a conveyer for delivering springs into said hopper, hook-forming mechanism at the discharge end of said hopper adapted to form a hook on one end of said springs, a spring turning mechanism arranged to turn the springs endwise, a hopper leading from said hook-forming dluS to the spring turning mechanism, a

lower hopper below said turning mechanism, means for actuating said turning mechanism to deliver springs into said lower hopper, and hook-forming dies in the discharge end of said last-mentioned hopper arranged to form a hook on the opposite end of said springs, substantially as described.

21. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs comprising a pair of hoppers in which the springs are successively placed,

hook forming dies at the discharge ends of said hoppers arranged to operate successively on opposite ends of the springs, clamping dies for holding said springs in position during the hook forming operations, and means for presenting the opposite end of the springs to the hook forming dies in the second of said hoppers to that engaged by the dies in said first hopper; substantially as described.

22. Apparatus for forming hooks on springs comprising a hopper in which a plurality of springs are placed, hook forming dies at the discharge end of said hopper, mechanism for separating the springs delivered from the hopper to said hook forming .dies and clamplng dies to hold the springs in position during the hook forming operation; substantially as described.

mechanism for separating and presenting 20 the springs singly from the hopper to said hook forming dles, and clamping dies to hold the springs in position during the hook formingoperation; substantially as' described.

NOAH S. HARTER.

Witnesses:

FRED WINTERS, N. D. SULLIVAN. 

